Call center scripts vs. actually listening - night and day difference

I worked at two different cable companies, one used strict scripts and the other let us talk natural. The script place, I had to read this robotic crap even when the customer was clearly angry about something else. Customers would literally say "stop reading, just help me" and I couldn't. The second place, we got trained on the products and then just had to solve problems. My call times dropped by like 2 minutes on average and satisfaction scores went up 15% in 3 months. Scripts make customers feel like robots are helping them, and nobody wants that. Has anyone else worked somewhere that ditched scripts and saw things get better?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordanr892d ago

That "stop reading just help me" line hit hard.

nora_campbell662d ago

Couldn't agree more. I remember a few years back I was trying to help my grandson with his math homework, and every time I'd read him the problem he'd sigh and say "just tell me the answer." I got so frustrated because I wanted him to learn, not just copy. But then I realized he was drowning in stuff he didn't understand, and my reading wasn't helping him swim. Sometimes people just need someone to grab their hand and walk them through it step by step. It took me a while to learn that listening to what they actually need is more important than giving them what I think they should have.